1. Remember the Dog Days: When I was 14, I broke into train yards. When you're 14 and you break into a train yard, it helps you learn to deal with fear. There were dogs and cops. It was tough. But even now, think about those days. I've been beat up, chased, barked at. What's the worst that can happen to me now?

2. Become "The Guy": I was a bread baker in cooking school but bread makers are a dime a dozen. They're like drummers. I needed something to stand out so I became the cake guy. Boom, someone's having a party, they need a cake, who do they call? They call the cake guy.

3. Blow Stuff Up: The way I got discovered by Food Network was by making a 4th of July cake with a working cannon. Nobody had ever done that before .... Sometimes you have to blow the lid off everybody's expectations.

"Ace of Cakes" star Duff Goldman is going from several seasons of the Food Network show to opening a version of his Baltimore bakery, Charm City Cakes, in Los Angeles. See pictures of Charm City Cakes and some of the staff here. Also see: • Pictures: Duff Goldman studio shots •...